Cravings
by AAJL
Summary: A good majority of women have the strangest cravings when they fall pregnant. Usui Takumi is amazed and shocked at all the things Usui Misaki chooses to eat. [DISCONTINUED]
1. Prologue

**The prologue is cliché, I know. Hopefully, the rest of the story will have the humour I intend to get across :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>He remembered seeing her for the first time at Seika High. He remembered all the strange nicknames she called him by, primarily a 'perverted outer-space alien'. He remembered asking her to be his girlfriend and how she had willingly accepted. He remembered the time he had chosen to propose to her over the shopping centre's P.A. system and how she had started crying out of happiness when he had gotten down on one knee and presented her with an diamond ring (she'd slapped him hard when she found out the price).<p>

And he remembered the time five weeks ago when he figured out she was pregnant.

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><p><em>It was 5 o'clock in the evening. Usui Takumi returned from a tiring day at work to a spotless house, the windows and timber floor almost blinding his eyes with the shine, which really was nothing new to him. Misaki had an odd habit of cleaning the house every few hours.<em>

_Taking off his shoes, he stepped inside the house and called out Misaki's name. No response._

_He called her name again and again, his worry growing with every call. He finally found her curled up in the middle of the king-sized bed they shared, fast asleep. He smiled in relief as he watched her body move with each breath, her hands cradled against her chest._

_Huh? She was holding something in her right hand. Was that a... pregnancy test?_

_Ever so carefully, he plucked the pregnancy test out of her hand and his faced morphed into somewhere between shock and horror as he analyzed the two small red lines that were printed on the stick. The two lines that meant whoever had used the test was pregnant._

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><p><em>When Misaki woke up, the first thing she felt was fear. Fear of what her husband's reaction would be when he discovered that she was pregnant. Would he be shocked? Would he abandon both her and the unborn child? Would he force her into an abortion?<em>

_Getting off the bed, she had barely taken three steps when an odd rush of vertigo hit her._

"_Watch out!"_

_Takumi's arms were around her before she could hit her head on the corner of the bedside table._

"_Thanks."_

_He didn't respond, his gaze never leaving her as she slowly made her way towards the kitchen. He slipped one hand inside his jacket pocket, his fingers brushing against the pregnancy test that was sitting inside._

_He watched as she turned on the tap and let some water pour into a small pot, ripping open a small packet of instant noodles as she waited for the pot to fill. Leaning against the frame of the kitchen door, he nonchalantly asked, "Misaki, what was this doing in your hand when I came home and found you asleep?" Reaching into his pocket, he brought out the stick._

_Misaki's mind went blank. Shit. Oh _shit_._

"_... So you found out?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, her body trembling with fear as she waited for his response._

"_Were you planning on telling me if I hadn't coincidentally found this?" he asked, not answering her question._

"_... Probably not."_

"_Why not?"_

_She didn't answer, her body still trembling._

_He sighed, threw the pregnancy test in the bin and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair._

"_Silly Prez. What made you think I would leave you once I found out you were pregnant?"_

"_Wha-? How did you know I thought-"_

"_I'm a perverted outer-space alien, remember?"_

"_... I suppose."_

"_Wrong."_

"_Huh?"_

"_I'm _your_ perverted outer-space alien. Didn't you already know that?" Usui kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, I promise to take good care of you and the life that's growing inside of you, our unborn child. I mean, we're married, after all," he said with a smirk._

"_Yeah... I suppose so..." she mumbled, a blush beginning to spread across her cheeks._

_Takumi grinned as a new thought came to mind. Bending down to her height, he whispered in her ear, "So, is sex still on the agenda, or are you planning on using your pregnancy as an excuse to get out of our nightly routine?"_

"_USUI TAKUMI YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!"_

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><p><strong>This story is dedicated to <span>Marisol Gaddi<span>, my ex-beta and the person who initially approved of this storyline. Actually, she was the one who edited the first (actual) chapter of this story. Hopefully she'll overcome the negative turnabouts in her life and return to our land of KWMS fanfictions soon :)**

**Reviews are kindly appreciated.**


	2. January: Ravioli

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>Takumi walked out of the kitchen, two steaming plates of chicken ravioli in a creamy white pasta sauce carefully balanced in each hand.<p>

He set one plate in front of Misaki, planting a quick kiss on her cheek before straightening his back.

"Your meal is served, my Mistress," he said in a formal voice, bowing and causing Misaki to laugh and return his kiss on the cheek. He smiled and sat in his own seat, watching her as she ravenously dug into her meal.

After five minutes of eating in silence, the silence broken only by the sound of silverware scraping across the plate, Misaki stood up and walked to the kitchen, taking her half-full plate with her.

"You're not going to throw that away, are you? I spent a lot of time and effort making that," Takumi pouted, giving her his trademark doggy-face.

Misaki rolled her eyes, having gotten used to the face her husband put on whenever he didn't get his way with her.

"No, of course not." With a flick of her hair, she gracefully walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

Takumi eagerly waited for her to return.

Five minutes passed. She hadn't come out of the kitchen yet. There seemed to be a lot of noise coming from the kitchen.

Ten minutes passed. She _still_ hadn't come out yet. He could hear running water and the occasional profanities that came out of her mouth. Maybe she dropped something?

Fifteen minutes. She was still cursing. Takumi decided that he would have to give her a lecture on appropriate language later.

Twenty minutes. He could hear a chopping noise and her profanities gradually turned into triumphant cries.

Half an hour. He could hear clattering and something (a fork?) scraping across a plate.

Takumi thought he had the patience to wait for her to return on her own. Obviously not.

After another 15 minutes of torturous waiting, he finally scraped back his chair and walked over to the kitchen, almost colliding with Misaki, who was carrying a full plate of steaming ravioli.

"What took you so long?"

"I was... re-heating my food."

"Did it really take you 45 minutes to _re-heat _your food?"

"Uh... yes?"

"I don't think so. Normally when food is being re-heated, it only takes about five minutes at the maximum. Nor is there a need to say bad language every ten seconds."

Misaki blushed, her grip on the plate in her hands growing tighter.

Takumi noticed this and instantly grew suspicious.

"Let me taste that."

"... If you really want to." She held out the plate in front of her.

Takumi retrieved his fork from the dining table and speared a piece of steaming ravioli on the tip.

_Chew. Chew. Che- GACK!_

Rushing to the kitchen sink, Takumi spat out the piece of murderous pasta, a panicking Misaki hot on his heels. Rinsing out his mouth, he asked, "Misaki, what the hell did you do?"

Misaki blushed deep red and looked at her feet.

"I'm really sorry, but I suddenly wanted something else for dinner. I made my own ravioli filled with sheep's intestine and oats. I went out and bought the intestines today while you were at work. The sauce is a combination of milk and apple juice, with a little bit of lemon zest. The green bits are pieces of raw zucchini."

_My life is so over._

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><p><strong>At least her cooking skills are improving ^^;<strong>

**Reviews are kindly appreciated.**


	3. February: Ice cream

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>"Shit!" Misaki hissed as a metal bowl crashed onto her feet. She bent down to retrieve the offending bowl, a smirking Takumi watching her actions.<p>

"You know, you're not going to be able to do that soon," he teased as she straightened her back.

"Why? Is it bad for the baby?" Misaki asked, eyes wide.

"No – you're not going to be as flexible as you are now," he said, smirking.

The two had attended a cooking class where you could learn how to make your own ice-cream. The head chef had said that simply mixing fruits or flavourings into vanilla ice-cream could open up a wide selection of new flavours. Now, at home, Takumi was helping Misaki practice and enhance her cooking skills and was appalled at her lack of improvement from the time she made him porridge. Actually, at the time, he wasn't even sure he could call her concoction 'porridge'.

"So I do _this..._" Misaki mumbled to herself as she reached for the ice.

"No," he countered, stopping her from getting the ice. "That comes later. You need to do _this_ first..."

And so it went on: Misaki continued to confuse the steps in the recipe and Takumi would have to intervene before she completely destroyed her batch of ice-cream. After three times the estimated preparation time, Misaki finally had her batch of ice-cream in the freezer.

"Well," Takumi smirked, pretending to wipe his forehead. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"Shut up," she mumbled, blushing as she lightly slapped him across the shoulder.

"Ow," he whined, mockingly rubbing his shoulder. "That hurts, Misa-chan."

"Suck it up."

"The proper response, in case you didn't pick it up, was, 'I'm sorry, I'll kiss it better for you'."

"Like I said, suck it up. You're a man, so act like one."

"Oh I will," he said with a smirk, pressing Misaki against the wall. It took Misaki a while to realise that Takumi had interpreted her words in an entirely different way.

"I meant acting like a man in _enduring the pain_, not acting like a horny one!" she yelled, her face bright red.

"Too bad."

He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with open passion. Despite her protests, Misaki found herself moving her lips in synchronicity with his, reflecting on how his kisses were always so intoxicating and just plain sweet. Then, realising what she was thinking about, she mentally slapped herself for thinking such weird things.

She was the first to pull away, gasping for air. Takumi, however, was unfazed; he put on his trademark puppy-dog face and pouted as she pushed aside his attempts to kiss her again.

"Not all of us have an unlimited supply of air," she panted as he gave up on kissing her lips and settled for her neck instead.

"Well, too bad," he smiled, licking her neck and earning himself a shiver and a light slap on the head. "_I_ do."

"How did I end up marrying such a horny man?" she asked herself in mock regret, shivering again when he moved down her neck towards her shoulders.

"I suppose you just did," he said, giving her smooth shoulder a final nip before straightening up. "You don't regret it though, do you?" His face was now serious, and his eyes showed genuine anxiety.

"Not when you kiss me like that," she teased, playfully ruffling his hair. He grinned, leaning in for another kiss–

_CRASH!_

Takumi and Misaki froze, Takumi's lips only a few centimetres away from Misaki's. It didn't take long to register that the crash had occurred behind them.

"Oops," Misaki said sheepishly as she realised that it was her arm that had accidentally toppled over two plates, a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl. The wooden spoon and mixing bowl reminded Takumi that there was freshly made ice-cream in the freezer, and he was eager to try some.

"That ice-cream must be set by now," he said, hoping that she'd pick up the message.

"Probably," Misaki nodded in agreement. Her face brightened. "Hey, let's try some!"

_Good. She did._

Pulling out the bowl of ice-cream, Takumi noted that it was a strange off-white colour. Good. Plain vanilla. His favourite. After the luxury Misaki flavour, of course.

After scooping out a small portion for each of them, he raised his bowl as a toast.

"To Misaki – may her cooking skills improve enough so that she doesn't kill me every time she tries to cook something."

She childishly stuck her tongue out at him before digging in.

"Mmm..." she said, obviously relishing the taste. Takumi, forgetting that Misaki had been having some very strange cravings lately, dug in just as eagerly as she did. Big mistake. His mouth was on fire, his tongue almost stinging from the strong, make-you-throw-up flavour. He began to choke, an alarmed Misaki rubbing his back in an attempt to calm him down.

Five glasses of water and two mouth rinses later, he said, almost accusingly, "I swear I saw everything that went in that mixture. So_ why the hell can I taste onions, ginger and garlic in this_?"

"How would I know?" she said, just as taken aback as he was when he first tasted her ice-cream. "I'm sure I followed that recipe to perfection."

"Obviously you didn't," he muttered, glaring at the evil ice-cream.

"Oh well. Tastes good to me," she shrugged, happily finishing off her portion and Takumi's.

_God help me_, he thought as he watched Misaki devour the "vanilla" ice-cream.

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><p><strong>I was laughing while I wrote this and felt sick at the same time. Is that even possible?<strong>

**Reviews are kindly appreciated.**


	4. March: Cookies

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p><em>Thank God today's meeting ended earlier than usual. I don't think I would have been able to handle another minute in that blasted conference room. So stuffy.<em>

Takumi came home early one evening to the smell of freshly baked cookies. The smell was strong and hit him as soon as he opened the door.

_Mmm... that smells so good... wait, did Misaki actually make something _edible _for once?_

"Ah, Takumi, welcome home."

Standing in the bedroom doorway was Misaki, rubbing her eyes like a child who had been woken up in the middle of the night.

Takumi immediately walked over to where Misaki was standing. Slipping his arms around her waist, he buried his face in her tangled, still slightly wet hair.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he murmured, his voice somewhat muffled. He inhaled, relishing the faint smell of of her shampoo.

"No, it's fine." She yawned.

_Liar._

Takumi remembered the cookie smell.

"Misaki, did you bake cookies today?"

"Yeah. You want to try some?"

_I hope they're as tasty as they smell..._

"Sure."

Misaki smiled, grabbed his hand and dragged him to the kitchen. There sitting on the kitchen table was a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. They looked pretty much harmless, nothing like the stuff she had been eating for the past two months. They looked _normal_.

Sniffing the air again, Takumi said, "I'm going to guess they taste as good as they smell."

Misaki laughed.

"Go on, try one," she said. "They're-"

Takumi picked up a cookie sitting on the plate in front of him and bit into it.

"No, wait-!"

Too late.

_Bite. Chew. Che- GACK! I need the milk, the milk!_

Takumi quickly picked up the glass of milk.

"No! Not the milk-!"

_CHUG. CHU- PWAH!_

Takumi rushed to the kitchen sink, a panicking Misaki running after him.

It took seven mouth rinses, a trip to the bathroom, another four mouth rinses and five glasses of water to completely get rid of the taste.

After Takumi had finally caught his breath, he asked, "Misaki, just what the _hell_ did you put in those cookies and that milk?"

Misaki sighed.

"Those cookies on the plate in front of you were for myself. There are actual chocolate chip ones in the tin over there."

Takumi rushed over to said tin and grabbed a cookie, almost sighing in bliss at its normal chocolate-y taste.

"What exactly _did_ you put in those cookies of yours?" he asked casually, chewing on his cookie.

"...They're lemon flavoured cookies with licorice bits and broccoli. Reduced sugar."

Takumi almost threw up right there and then.

_No wonder there was a slight green-ish tinge to those cookies. And there was a really strong lemony taste to it too. God that is gross._

"And the milk?"

"That glass of milk was also for me. I wanted to drink something spicy for some reason, so I put some chilli powder and a little bit of wasabi in it."

Takumi could only stare at her like an idiot.

_...Holy shit._

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><p><strong>Her cooking skills must really be improving if Takumi actually <em>wanted<em> to eat her food :P**

**Reduced sugar lemon treats. Eugh. *shudder***

**Reviews are kindly appreciated.**


	5. April: Bunny apples

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>"Don't forget you have an appointment with Mr. Takahisa tomorrow. He says that he has a very tight schedule and does not want you to be late. Mrs. Kitaro has also requested your presence at a luncheon on Friday. Oh, and your brother wants you to call him when you have time," Mimi, Takumi's secretary, called out to him as Takumi gathered his things on a Thursday afternoon.<p>

"I'll deal with them when they come. Right now, what I really want to do is go home," a tired Takumi complained.

"I understand. It's not easy when you have a difficult job and a pregnant wife to take care of at the same time," Mimi said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Take it easy, alright?"

"I will. Thanks, Mimi."

"How _is _Mrs. Usui, by the way? Would she like any help in getting around, doing things...?"

"She hates it when other people do things for her out of their own free will. Something about wasting their time because of her," he said, shrugging.

"Are you sure? It's not because she has a secret grudge against me or anything like that?"

"The opposite, actually. You're like a sister to Misaki."

Mimi laughed. "Is that so?" she said. "Well, I'll probably drop by with some _real_ food later. From what I've been hearing, you're both going to end up with a severe case of food poisoning."

"That'd be great. I'll see you later, then."

"Alright. Have a safe trip home."

_I am so lucky to have a secretary who doesn't have any feelings towards me, nor any hatred towards Misaki because she was the one I chose to marry. My job would really be the death of me if I had a secretary who was head over heels for me._

Takumi loosened his tie as soon as he stepped out of the stuffy office building, deeply inhaling the cool fresh air. When he got home, however, he immediately tightened it again because he knew Misaki preferred a neat, formal Takumi over a sloppy, "unpresentable" Takumi (which he didn't really understand). Upon entering the house, he heard chopping noises coming from the kitchen.

_Misaki's been eating like no tomorrow lately. I wonder whether we'll have enough money to support Misaki's stomach until the baby's due..._

"I'm home, Misaki," he said, louder than normal so she'd hear.

"Welcome back. You've got bunny apples waiting for you in the kitchen," she called back.

"Bunny apples!" Takumi repeated in a childish voice with spirited delight, walking with more energy than normal.

"Yes, bunny apples," she laughed. "Hurry up, they've been waiting to be eaten for a long time."

Walking into the kitchen, he found Misaki expertly cutting an apple into perfect bunny-shaped pieces. In his attempt to lean on the kitchen bench, he almost knocked over the salt shaker and a bowl that contained some sort of thick reddish-brown liquid.

Standing the salt shaker upright, Takumi commented, "Wow, Misa-chan's cooking skills have really improved. I can still remember how you always broke Mr. Bunny's ears whenever I asked you to make me bunny apples when we were sixteen."

Misaki blushed and hit him on the arm with the back of her hand, trying to fight a smile.

"Just shut up and eat your apples," she said. She went back to cutting more bunny apples before suddenly putting down the knife. "And... uh..." she stammered, nervously kissing him on the lips. "Happy birthday, Takumi."

Takumi smiled, returning her kiss and pulling her into a loose hug. "Thanks, my beautiful wife," he said happily. "How was your day? Were you bored without me around to keep you entertained?" he smirked, winking at her. She hit him harder than before, grinning at him before disentangling herself from his prison-like arms and going back to chopping apples.

Takumi turned his attention towards the two blue china plates sitting next to the chopping board, full of bunny apples. Not knowing which plate to eat from, Takumi randomly picked up a bunny apple and raised it to his mouth.

"No! Don't eat that-"

_Bite- PWEH! OH MY FREAKING GOD WHAT IS THIS?_

Takumi rushed to the sink and spat out his mouthful of apple, Misaki worriedly chasing after him.

After he'd downed four glasses of water and caught his breath, Takumi glared at Misaki, who appeared to be extremely worried.

"Misaki, just what the hell did you do to those apples?"

"I was trying to warn you, but you didn't listen to me," Misaki said defensively, trying to calm him down from his spastic attack by rubbing his back. "There was a reason as to why I did two separate plates, you know." She handed him the other plate. "These are normal."

Takumi quickly seized a bunny apple and sighed as its sweet juice overrode the strange taste that still lingered on his tongue.

"By the way, you never did answer my question. What did you do to the bunny apples on that other plate?" he asked. Half of him wanted to know; the other didn't for fear of throwing up right there and then.

"Oh, those? Those were coated in a combination of tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and mustard. Extra salt."

Takumi stared at her in disbelief. Misaki reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as an apology.

"Your birthday request didn't exactly turn out the way you expected, did it?" she said, guilt evident in her voice as she tucked her head underneath his chin. Upon hearing the tone of her voice, Takumi immediately repositioned his chin so that they were in a more comfortable embrace.

"Don't worry about it," he said softly. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy. If bunny apples coated in tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard and extra salt –" he shuddered as he listed the horrendous ingredients, "– is what you want, then that's fine by me."

"Well, too bad," she countered somewhat aggressively. "You want me to be happy, right? Well, I'm happy when _you're_ happy. So either way, you're going to end up with your way."

"Over my dead body," he mumbled angrily into her hair. "Until I die, your happiness is _always _going to come first. Full stop."

"Really? Well, I see things a little differently," she grinned, reaching into a nearby drawer and drawing a long, dangerously sharp blade. "So would you rather talk things out, or do I have to do it the hard way?"

"I'd rather you do it the hard way," Takumi winked as he backed towards the kitchen door. "But how about you catch me first?" So quickly that Misaki missed it, he turned and ran off, laughing as he went.

"Get back here!" Misaki laughed, tossing the knife in the sink as she chased after the perverted – and very fast – outer-space alien who'd been the first to capture her heart.

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><p><strong>A little bit of a clichéd speech at the end, I know.<strong>

**Look, if you're not going to review, then don't favourite. Simple, right? Why don't you just do both in one go? If you're an ff author, then you should know how annoying it is to receive _just_ a favourite.**

**Okay, I'm really ranting now. You must be a really strange person if you're still reading my notes.**

**Reviews are kindly appreciated.**


	6. May: Omelet rice

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>"Dinner's ready!" Misaki called out to a very tired-looking Kuuga, an eagerly waiting Sakura and an equally excited Takumi. Today was Sakura and Kuuga's second wedding anniversary and they had been unsuccessful in their search for a nice, quiet place to have dinner, neither of them wanting to have to cook. Misaki had come to their rescue (as Sakura put it) by inviting them over for dinner.<p>

"Good," Kuuga mumbled to himself, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm starving." The poor guy had had to perform three concerts, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one just half an hour before their scheduled arrival at the Usui household. Sakura placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, giving it a small but comforting squeeze.

"Smells good, Misaki!" Sakura said excitedly as she caught a whiff of the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. "What is it?"

"Omelet rice!" Takumi said happily, clapping his hands together. He knew that smell only too well.

"Correct!" Misaki laughed as she and Suzuna (who'd also been invited to the dinner party) carried out four plates of steaming rice covered in a bright yellow egg omelet and tomato sauce decorating the top in a zigzag pattern. After bringing out the large bowl of salad and glass jug of ice-cold orange juice, Takumi stood up to make a toast.

"To Kuuga and Sakura," he said, lifting his mug of orange juice. _I should've invested in some proper glasses,_ Misaki thought, unable to tear her eyes away from the neon-green mug in his hands. It wasn't her fault that she'd forgotten to take her sunglasses off the day she bought that mug for him! Was it? "May their marriage prosper and be blessed with many children in the years to come!"

_What are you, a man from the 70s? No one ever says it that formally anymore!_

"To Kuuga and Sakura!" Misaki and Suzuna chorused, lifting their fluorescent mugs in turn (Takumi loved payback). Sakura blushed, her smile widening as Kuuga draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Kuuga himself was showing a rare contented smile, clearly in a good mood.

"And now," Takumi continued, sitting down and raising his fork as if he was going to hit someone with it, "We eat!" Cheers erupted from every person in the room (except Suzuna, of course) and the clinking of silverware against the china plates almost like an orchestra in the large, echoey dining room.

"Mmm, I didn't know you could cook this well, Misaki! It tastes great!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, this tastes good. Thanks, devil woman."

"Good job, sis."

Takumi was the only one who didn't compliment her cooking. He looked as if he was in deep thought, chewing carefully. It wasn't long before he started to choke.

"Takumi?" Misaki said, the worry evident in her voice. Her eyes widened as the choking continued. "What's the matter?"

Takumi didn't reply, grabbing his mug of juice and chugging it down as fast as he could. When he finished, he quickly refilled his mug, the liquid forced down his throat as quickly as the first lot was. After five mugs of watered-down orange juice (Suzuna had insisted on putting the whole tray of ice in the jug), he mumbled something about needing to go to the bathroom and rushed off.

"As expected," Kuuga mumbled under his breath as Takumi sprinted for the nearest bathroom. "His bladder was never very big from the beginning." Misaki bit back a grin.

"But what happened?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide from the sudden commotion. "Is there something wrong with the food? Mine tastes fine."

"So does mine," Kuuga said.

"And mine," Suzuna said.

_I think I know what's wrong with his food..._

Misaki reached over, scooped up some rice from Takumi's plate and popped it in her mouth. Sakura and Kuuga watched anxiously, waiting for the gagging to happen all over again.

_Yup._

"...Go figure."

"What's wrong?" Sakura said nervously.

"He got my plate of food. I made a separate lot for myself, you know, seeing as this baby has quite a questionable appetite."

"What did you put in it?" Kuuga asked. "Bad food doesn't easily send Takumi running in circles."

"I think the eggplant I put in was raw. At least, I don't remember cooking it."

"Anything else?" Suzuna asked, an uncharacteristic fearful edge in her voice.

"I think I accidentally tipped over the bag of sugar as well." Misaki took another bite from Takumi's plate. "And maybe the bottle of pineapple juice."

"You asked me to get you the jar of strawberry jam as well, sis. Did you put some of that in your food as well?"

"...Come to think of it, I did."

She quickly finished off Takumi's portion, sliding her "normal" portion of food in front of his seat so that he'd have something to eat when he got back.

"Excuse me," she said, standing up. "I need to see how the alien is doing. Maybe call an ambulance if it's needed." She walked away from the table, leaving Sakura and Kuuga staring at her empty plate in horror. How was she able to finish such an awful sounding omelet rice in less than thirty seconds?

Inside the bathroom, Takumi was sweating like he usually did after a night of hardcore *bleep*. This time, instead of sweating and panting out of pleasure, he was hyperventilating and on the verge of passing out from the almost heart-attack.

_Lord, have mercy on me and our baby. Lord, have mercy on me and our baby..._

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><p><strong>Anyone here Vocaloid fans? I'm in love with the Kagamine twins' singing. Rin's 'Why Don't You Call Me Yet?' has GOT to be the sweetest song ever.<strong>

**Sorry if Kuuga x Sakura isn't your thing. I like them, though.**

**Review or don't bother favourite-ing.**


	7. June: Ramen

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>"<em>My Misa's trying to kill me <em>~" Takumi sang in a melancholy voice. "_With awful food–_"

"Shut up," Misaki said, whacking him on the back of his head with a rolled-up newspaper and trying not to laugh.

"_And now she's trying to kill me again ~_" Takumi continued, smirking. "_With a rolled-up newspaper–_"

"Look, accepting my bad cooking was one of the conditions of our marriage," Misaki said, grinning and patting his head. "Live with it."

"_She is the demoness of the kitchen ~_" Takumi sang. "_Whose talent is killing those with the food she makes–"_

"Okay, I get it!" Misaki laughed, throwing her hands in the air as a sign of surrendering. "I admit defeat in the kitchen. Satisfied?"

"Maybe," Takumi said, smiling and kissing the top of her head.

"Good, I finally got you to stop that terrible singing."

"Aw, you don't like my singing voice?" Takumi teased, placing a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

"When you're singing about how depressed you are, yes," Misaki replied, grinning.

"Well then, if I can't sing it to you, I'll have my violin do the dirty work." Misaki barely managed to stop him from retrieving his violin case, which was hidden at the back of the wardrobe.

"Look, if you don't want to eat my cooking, how about we eat out?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. You know something, Misaki?"

"Hm?"

"It's a good thing we're eating out, because that's an extra month on my life. I want to at least live long enough to see our baby. That is, if the baby survives the food you've been feeding it."

*Whack*

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><p>"Welcome to 'Wonders of Japan'," a waitress said, guiding Takumi and Misaki to a small, secluded table at the back of the busy restaurant. "I'll just leave a couple of menus here for you to look through. Take your time." She walked off.<p>

"What are you having, Misaki?" Takumi asked, peering at the menu.

"Hmm... maybe the shoyu* ramen."

"What, isn't my ramen good enough for you?"

"And when was the last time you made ramen for me?" Misaki retorted, knowing very well what the answer was.

"Uh... about a year ago," he responded sheepishly.

"My point exactly. Anyway, what are you having?"

"The omelet rice, seeing as the last one you made was a complete disaster on my part."

"Oh shut up," Misaki muttered as the waitress returned.

"Are you two ready to order yet?" she asked, pulling a small notebook and pen from her apron.

"Yeah, sure," Takumi said, repeating their order to the waitress.

"That will be done shortly. In the meantime, can I get you two something to drink?"

"I'm fine with water, thanks."

"And you, young miss?"

"Same with me, thank you."

"Alright, I'll be back shortly with your meals." She turned to walk away, but not before winking at Takumi. He didn't notice.

"Eh? Why are you staring at me?" Misaki asked, leaning back in her seat.

"Staring competition," Takumi replied matter-of-factly, a faint trace of a smile playing his lips. His gaze didn't so much as waver from her.

"You're on," Misaki said, an evil glint in her eyes as she returned his piercing stare. Not a word was exchanged until the food arrived.

"U-Uh, y-your food has a-a-arrived," the waitress stammered, feeling uncomfortable in the presence of two ever growing dark auras. She quickly set the steaming dishes on the table before making a beeline for the employee area.

"Ooh, the food's here!" Misaki said happily, digging into her ramen.

"You looked away, Misa-chan," Takumi smirked. "I win. Again."

"Shut up and eat your food. You're paying, by the way."

"Always eager to preserve your money, I see."

"Just eat, will you?"

Takumi watched Misaki as she reached for the salt shaker.

"What are you doing?"

"Seasoning my food, as you can see."

Takumi's jaw dropped further as more and more salt made its way into Misaki's bowl of ramen. His jaw hit the floor when the shaker was completely devoid of salt.

"Misaki, you–" Takumi's sentence got cut off as Misaki ate a few of the salty noodles.

"Hmm, still not enough," she mused, reaching for the bottle of soy sauce. Half of that went into the bowl of ramen.

"Do I _want_ to taste that?" Takumi asked in horror as Misaki happily slurped her ramen.

"No, you don't," Misaki mumbled, her mouth full of ramen. "You probably end up with a heart attack." She finished her ramen. "Mmm. Yum."

Once Takumi was done with his food, Misaki called over a waitress. "Can we have the bill, please?" she politely asked. The waitress responded with a nod of her head and went to retrieve the bill.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, 'kay?" Misaki said, standing up and heading for the female restroom. Takumi took this opportunity to taste a bit of the leftover broth in Misaki's bowl.

Misaki returned to find Takumi face-flat on the table, knocked out cold. Something on his breath told her that he'd tasted her salty ramen.

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><p><strong>Sorry for not updating in a while. That was 'cause you guys weren't dropping reviews. Maybe I'd update faster if you gave me more feedback.<strong>

**I suppose what really got me writing– uh, I mean, typing– was violetshade's review, telling me to 'get my butt online and update'. Good motivation, don't you think? Thanks, violetshade :)**

***Shoyu ramen – ramen with a soy sauce base (I think, seeing as 'shoyu' means 'soy sauce' in Japanese). The part where Misaki continually adds salt and soy sauce is just adding more flavour to the already-salty broth. Damn, that'd be one salty bowl of ramen. No wonder Takumi passed out.**

**Review please.**


	8. July: Fruit Salad

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p><em>Chop<em>.

Something was definitely missing. Takumi bit his lip, not liking the feeling and deciding that he'd much rather another set of teeth biting him instead.

_Chop. Chop._

He turned to look at Misaki, who was cutting up honeydew with ease.

_Chop. Chop._

'_I __can__'__t __believe __I __agreed __to __this,__'_ he thought pathetically as he eyed Misaki's lips, pressed into a thin line as she cut the fruit.

_Chop._

"Stop looking at me like that, you perverted outer-space alien. Your perverted stare is making my skin prickle."

"You know I can't help it," Takumi complained, setting down his knife. "Why'd you make me agree to it in the first place?"

"Like I said," she said calmly, "You agreed to it out of your own free will."

"Agreeing to not do anything to you for two weeks? Doesn't sound like something I'd normally agree to."

"Ah, but you did. Shizuko and Suzuna were our eye-witnesses."

"What about Sakura?"

"Her memory is not to be trusted at any given point in time."

Takumi groaned.

"You're making this a whole lot harder for me, you know." It was true. Despite the large bump protruding from her stomach, her legs still looked incredibly smooth and damn sexy, and the short maternity dress Misaki was sporting wasn't doing much to hide them from Takumi's field of view.

"I like playing dirty," she smirked. Takumi swore under his breath.

"I'm demanding a hefty reward for doing this, you know," he growled, resisting the urge to grab her and screw her right there and then. Agreeing to the deal had meant no kissing, no hugging, no sex (much to Takumi's dismay), and pretty much nothing intimate in general. Misaki was an expert at detecting Takumi's frustration, more so now that he'd agreed to their playful deal, and her skill level at ducking out of the house without being noticed was steadily increasing. She was heavily contemplating this, but decided against it. The fruit salad really needed to be finished. Suzuna and Minako would be coming over soon.

"Come on," Misaki urged, swiftly pecking him on the cheek. The bet hadn't included her, much to his dismay. "We need to finish this, or Suzuna and Mom will be over before we're done." Takumi restrained himself from jumping her and returned to cutting fruit.

Soon enough, the fruit salad was done and neatly arranged on a china plate.

"Mmm," Misaki moaned, inhaling the intoxicating scent of the fruit. "This'll taste good after dinner." She slid the plate into the fridge, not knowing that Takumi was flushing beet red having taken a glance at her unintentionally exposed back while bending over. She turned to face Takumi, a grin on her face.

"You're actually coping really well," she mused, tapping her chin in mock thoughtfulness with one finger. "Oh well. I like torturing you anyhow." She flicked her long hair as she walked past him in the direction of the living room, blowing the scent of citrusy shampoo in Takumi's face. She let her hand brush lightly, casually across his chest, stifling a giggle when she heard him sharply inhale. Takumi growled.

_Sneaky, tantalising, much-too-clever son of a –_

The door bell rang, interrupting Takumi's train of thought. Misaki gasped with delight as she rushed to open the door for her mother and sister.

"Are we late?" Minako asked, tightly gripping a large platter covered in foil.

"No, not at all. Come in."

"Where's Takumi?" Suzuna asked, staring blankly at the pretty white interior.

"I'm here. It's been a while since I last saw my in-laws," Takumi grinned, relieving Minako of the heavy platter and winking at Suzuna.

"Yes, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Minako smiled warm-heartedly. "Goodness, you're looking very healthy, Misaki. Have you been experiencing any pains lately? Do you need a doctor's check-up or anything?"

"The baby's started kicking, but other than that, I'm fine. Takumi's been doing a good job taking care of me," Misaki smiled, slipping an arm around her husband's waist.

"That's good to hear," Minako said happily. "Now, let's eat before the food gets cold. I don't mean to rush things, but Suzuna hasn't eaten anything all day because she forgot to take her lunch to work."

"No, we were going to start soon anyway," Misaki said, gesturing towards the dining table. "Let's eat!"

**(An hour later)**

"That made so much of a difference from Misaki's usual cooking," Takumi sighed in bliss, smirking and dodging as Misaki directed a punch straight towards his jaw. "That was good, Minako. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Minako smiled warmly at her son-in-law.

"Anyone up for fruit?" Misaki asked, standing up and heading for the kitchen.

"Let me do it, Misa. You should be more careful, now that you're so big," Takumi chided gently, tapping her playfully on the cheek.

"See what I mean?" Misaki murmured as Takumi left the table.

"Yup," Suzuna said, taking a sip of water.

"The final course for the night: a colourful fruit salad made by Misaki and myself, comprised of some of the best quality fruits the market had to offer this morning," Takumi grinned, setting the plate on the table. "Enjoy."

Minako proceeded to evenly distribute the fruits onto clean plates while Suzuna passed them around. Takumi eagerly tucked in and Minako was about to take a bite of honeydew when Suzuna suddenly interrupted, "Sis, there's something on this honeydew."

"Oh, you're right," Misaki said, eyes wide as she inspected the piece of honeydew on her fork.

Takumi started to gag, reaching for his glass of water and downing it as fast as he could, refilling it as quickly as it was emptied. Misaki began clapping him on the back, panic evident in her voice as she tried to ask what was wrong. When he finally calmed down, he exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.

"I really don't fancy detergent on my honeydew," Takumi said, glaring at Misaki. "Do you?"

"Looks like next time I need to cut fruit away from the sink," Misaki said apologetically. "Sorry."

"Goodness, is that the time already?" Minako suddenly said, looking at her watch. "We must be going, Misaki. Thank you very much for inviting us over, it was most pleasant eating dinner together."

When she and Suzuna had left the house, Takumi swiftly pinned Misaki to the wall, ignoring her huge bump as he pressed his lips eagerly to hers.

"I hate losing," he muttered in the brief moments his lips left hers. "But if this is what I get if I lose, then so be it. You win."

Misaki smirked, covering his mouth with her hand and pushing him away.

"I forgot to tell you the consequences of losing," she grinned at a puppy-dog faced Takumi. "You're not allowed to do anything to me for two months."

_"WHAT?"_

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><p><strong>It's not really a craving, I know. I thought it'd be a bit of a change from Misaki purposefully (or accidentally) turning something edible into something she likes (which usually equals inedible in Takumi's books). <strong>**Oh well. Hopefully the story itself is still okay.**

**Review and make a girl happy? (Especially seeing as she's just finished her School Cert. exams.)**


	9. August: Curry rice

**Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS.**

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><p>"Damn that smells good," Takumi breathed, inhaling the sharp, pungent smell of curry. He let his arms loosely wrap themselves around Misaki's large, protruding stomach; he was delighted to think she would be giving birth in less than a month. "Hear that, kiddo? Your mother's becoming quite the cook."<p>

"Don't listen to your father," Misaki chuckled, whapping Takumi upside the head with a wooden spoon. "If he hadn't taught me, you wouldn't be growing in there, kid. We'd all be dead."

"You and your ways of reasoning," Takumi grinned, pressing his lips to the base of her exposed neck. "You're incredible."

Misaki laughed. "Thanks for the compliment. Now get out of here before I really knock you out with this spoon."

"But you're making curry ~" Takumi whined. "And it smells good ~"

"...Fine, you can stay. Just don't bother me."

Takumi smirked, then suddenly became serious, sniffing the air. "Is something burning?"

Misaki's mouth fell open. "Uh... can you check the rice cooker for me?"

"...Tell me, Misa, how the hell do you burn _rice?__"_

"...I don't know," Misaki said sheepishly. "Can you fix it?"

"Nope," Takumi said, popping the 'p'. "You'll have to start over again."

"Can you do it for me?"

"N–"

"Thanks."

Takumi shook his head in disbelief, a smile playing on his lips.

"Only if I get a kiss."

"_One_ kiss only? I don't believe you."

"Just one will do... or two."

Misaki sighed and quickly pecked Takumi on the cheek.

"There. You got your kiss. Happy?"

"Not really. I wanted you to kiss me while wearing that black lace cami I bought you –"

"Takumi. You _know_ I don't wear that."

"Why not? You said you would."

"That was to shut you up because you wouldn't go to sleep, even though it was one in the morning. Now get out of the kitchen. Now."

_Damn, __Misa__'__s __sexy __whenever __she __gets __agro,_ he thought. However, no matter how sexy she was, the fact remained that he would most probably get crushed to oblivion if he kept pushing her buttons, so he quickly slipped out of the kitchen (not before dropping a quick kiss on her head, though, the sneaky b–)

It wasn't long before the rice was done (hats off to Takumi), the curry was bubbling happily in the pot sitting on the stove and the kitchen in general smelled _heavenly_.

"Dinner time!" Takumi sang happily, placing two plates on the table.

"Yes, yes, it's dinner time," Misaki said, smiling and shaking her head as she dished out two even servings of rice and curry.

"_Ittadakimasu!"_

Strangely enough, Takumi had neglected to tell Misaki his low tolerance for –

"_WATER!"_

...anything spicy.

"Why didn't you tell me you couldn't handle anything spicy?" Misaki groaned as she handed him his seventh glass of water.

"I assumed the curry would be mild!" Takumi panted, half-crouching over the kitchen sink.

"Well, you should know by now that this baby is not quite right in the head," Misaki sighed, rubbing Takumi's back in soothing circles. "I thought that the alien in you could handle spicy food. That's why I put extra chilli powder and fresh chillies in it."

"I'll remind you next time."

"You do that."

An awkward silence hung between them as Misaki continued to calm Takumi down from his attack of the chillies.

"Feeling better now?" Misaki asked gently, playfully ruffling his hair.

"Much better," Takumi smiled, snaking an arm around what was left of her waist (he hadn't known her stomach would get so bloody big!) and pulling her closer to him. "But as compensation for almost killing me for the past seven months, you will wear that black lace cami to bed tonight –"

"I've told you over and over, Takumi," Misaki sighed impatiently. "It doesn't matter whether it was on sale or not. Although I appreciate the gesture, I really don't care whether you bought it for a dollar or for a hundred. I. Will. _Not_. Wear. It."

"But it looks good on you," Takumi whined.

"And how the FRICK would you know that?"

"I photoshopped a picture of you and printed it out."

...

"USUI FUCKING TAKUMI! I WANT THAT FUCKING PICTURE FUCKING DELETED AND FUCKING BURNT, RIGHT THIS FUCKING MINUTE, YOU FUCKING HEAR ME!"

"Language, language," Takumi murmured, somewhat scared at his wife's sudden outburst. Big mistake.

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><p>(Five minutes later)<p>

* * *

><p>"So now that you've dislocated my jaw," Takumi mumbled, "and broken at least six of my limbs, are you willing to wear that cami?"<p>

"Sounds like another bone is calling my name," she said calmly, raising her tightly clenched fist.

"No, no!" Takumi quickly said, not bothering to hide the fear he currently felt. Bloody hell, she'd never been _this_ scary before. For God's sake, he could see freaking flames in those eyes of hers.

"Then that's settled. The photo WILL be burnt, the cami WILL remain in the plastic bag with the tags still attached, and it will NEVER make it onto my body. IS. THAT. CLEAR?"

"Y-Yes, Ma'am," Takumi stammered, eyes wide with fear, his body trembling with nerves all over.

"Good." With that, she walked off to the bedroom. Takumi got up off the floor, groaning and clutching his sore arms all the while, and slowly followed her. He didn't bother changing into pajamas; he simply collapsed onto the bed, a small groan escaping his lips.

"I guess I hit you a little too hard, huh?" came a sheepish voice from the bathroom.

"'A little too hard' would be an understatement," Takumi muttered, turning and facing away from Misaki.

"Sorry," Misaki said quietly, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "When this baby is out and safely sleeping with Mom or Suzuna, then maybe I'll wear that stupid cami, 'kay?"

"REALLY?" Takumi immediately bolted upright, eyes wide and sparkling with sudden happiness (_perversion, __more __like __it,_ Misaki thought).

"I really don't get why you're so happy about that," Misaki said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I can't fit into it right now, what with this belly of mine."

"You promise to wear it?" Takumi grinned, reaching out and pulling her onto the bed next to him.

"Yeah, whatever," Misaki smiled, snuggling into his chest and making a mental note to get Kanou to hypnotise her dirty husband out of the promise before he got the chance to force that thing on her.

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><p><strong>Looks like Misaki wanted something spicy this time round :l<strong>

**Oh, the cami'll make an appearance later, don't worry. If you want to see it now, you know where to go.**

**Review? OwO**


	10. September (part one): Instant noodles

_Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS._

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><p>"Takumi?" Misaki called, sitting on the couch with a book in one hand, her other hand resting lightly on her balloon stomach. "Takumi?" There was no response.<p>

Misaki smiled to herself and gently rubbed her belly. "I hope you'll let Mama and Papa see you soon, honey," she murmured softly. She looked at the calendar. Three more weeks to go until it was due. This _thing_ was causing more damage to her than Takumi had done to her dress on their first night when he'd... er...

_No, Misaki, you told yourself you wouldn't use that word! What if the baby heard it?_

Sighing and heaving herself off the couch with heavy effort, she set off to find Takumi, wherever he was.

"Takumi, can you – Oh." She stopped outside their bedroom, met with the sight of Takumi lying face-flat on the bed, snoring lightly.

_Pfft..._

"What is it, Misa?" he mumbled groggily, turning his head slightly. Man, he was one light sleeper.

"Never mind," Misaki said, shaking her head and smiling to herself. "You just keep sleeping." There was no need for further encouragement – Takumi had already gone back to sleep.

"Oh well. Guess I'll just have to get food myself."

Opening the double doors of the pantry, she hummed to herself as she rummaged through the piles of food (Takumi had bought out the entire supermarket as soon as her appetite had shown signs of increasing. The racket that occurred later caused an earthquake which Takumi estimated to measure a whopping 4.5 on the Richter scale). Grabbing two packets of instant noodles and two unlabelled jars, she began heating a pot of water on the stove.

Ten minutes later, Misaki heard Takumi walking down the stairs, yawning as he went. He must have still been a little groggy, with the way he was practically stomping down the stairs.

"...Good morning... Misa-chan..." he mumbled before falling flat on the couch. Carefully placing her chopsticks on the edge of the bowl, Misaki walked over to the couch and patted his head.

"Why don't you just go back to sleep, you idiot?" she said, a smile tugging at her lips as she playfully ruffled his hair. She received a loud snore in response. She grinned to herself before kissing the top of his head.

Usui Misaki has discovered something new about Usui Takumi: he is _not_ a morning person. At all.

Well, it _is_ four o'clock in the afternoon, but still...

Misaki took another bite of noodles, only to suddenly receive an urgent call from her near-bursting bladder. Dropping her chopsticks, she made a beeline for the bathroom, her thundering pace waking up her snoozing husband.

"Geez, what's with all the noise, Misaki?" Takumi groaned, turning over to lie on his back. From upstairs, he heard a door slam shut. He smirked.

_Duty calls, huh..._

Yawning, he headed for the kitchen where he saw Misaki's neglected bowl of noodles. He wondered whether he should finish them off – he knew Misaki hated cold noodles. His stomach rumbled affirmative, so he grabbed a fork and took his first and last bite of her noodles.

When Misaki came back downstairs, she was slightly surprised to see Takumi chowing down last night's takeout as fast as he could.

"You couldn't even handle my curry last time I made it," Misaki said slowly, watching Takumi throw food down his throat. "So why are you eating that? You're not even complaining."

Takumi briefly shot her the evil eye before continuing to down the contents of the entire takeaway container. Once he was done, he exhaled sharply before replying, "You know very well why."

"I don't," Misaki protested, still puzzled. Takumi raised an eyebrow and pointed at her bowl, still half-full of noodles.

"Oh," Misaki said, grinning. "Yeah, that's mine. You should know very well by now that you shouldn't ever touch my food."

"Never mind that," Takumi said, shaking his head. "What I want to know is why anyone would put _sugar_ and _sprinkles_ into their noodles, regardless of sanity."

"Well, I accidentally put the packet of chili sauce into the noodles," Misaki began, "And I wasn't in the mood for spicy food. So I tried putting salt in it, but that made things worse. Then I got the idea of putting sugar into the noodles. It worked, didn't it?" She sounded very proud of herself. Takumi face-palmed himself.

"And the sprinkles?"

"Don't they make the noodles look pretty?"

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><p><em>Oh my God. I am so very, very sorry for updating practically a year since the last chapter. The good news (or bad, however you want to see it) is that this story will soon be coming to an end (if you've been keeping tabs on the months stated in the chapter name, you will realise why), and no, there will be no sequel. I don't have the time to write much more.<em>

_This chapter was quite pathetic, in my opinion. It was rushed because I wanted to finish off 'Cravings' as soon as possible. Don't be mad. __

_Hold on just a little more, okay? Only one more chapter to go! (Or two, if I feel like an epilogue.)_


	11. September (part two): Cake

Disclaimer: I do not own KWMS!.

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><p>Misaki hissed under her breath as the baby delivered another rough kick to her stomach. Rubbing her stomach gently in an attempt to sooth it, Misaki wandered to the living room.<p>

"Taku–" He was standing in front of her before she could finish.

"You called, Misaki?" he said, looking like a puppy dog eagerly waiting for a walk. Misaki leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, to which Takumi grinned happily.

"I'm hungry," Misaki began. Takumi cocked an eyebrow at her statement, though Misaki chose to ignore it. "Can you make me a cake?"

"Sure. What flavour?"

"Any. I don't mind." Takumi nodded and, rolling up his sleeves, walked into the kitchen. Misaki followed him in and saw all the raw ingredients already lined up neatly on the kitchen counter. Takumi began efficiently measuring out the appropriate amounts of flour and sugar.

"Can I help?" Misaki asked, peering over his shoulder at his precise measurements.

"Yeah," Takumi said, ruffling Misaki's hair playfully. "Just mix up everything sitting on the table." Misaki nodded and went to fetch a mixing bowl. Takumi heard the cracking of one egg, then two, then three, then four, then–

He turned around, silently praying he wasn't hearing what he was hearing. The egg carton sitting on the countertop was almost empty.

"Misaki," he said, trying to stay calm and collected, "Have you read the recipe?"

"No," Misaki said absentmindedly, cracking another egg.

"How many eggs have you put in there?'

"I dunno," Misaki shrugged, cracking yet another egg. "Maybe six, or seven...?"

"The recipe says you only need _two_." Misaki stopped, the yolk from a partially cracked egg threatening to spill out into the bowl with the other seven or eight eggs. Takumi sighed, swiftly moving the mixing bowl away from Misaki. "Actually, I don't want you overexerting yourself. Just go watch some TV or something."

"Yeah," Misaki said quietly, edging closer to the kitchen door. "Yeah, uh, I'll just..." She quickly slipped out the kitchen, silently closing the door behind her. Takumi tipped the eggs into a separate container, making a mental note to make an omelette or something later, and began mixing the correct ingredients together.

Thirty minutes later, Takumi was putting the final touches of cream and fruit on the cake, the smell of freshly baked cake wafting through the door and out into the living room.

"Misaki," Takumi called, not looking up from the piping bag in his hands. "It's done. Come in and have a slice." He only noticed five minutes later that Misaki had not made an appearance.

"Misaki?" Takumi called again, setting the piping bag down carefully and venturing into the living room. "Misaki, the cake's ready." He couldn't hear any response.

"Misaki, where are you?" Takumi couldn't help but feel worried. Misaki's strength had depleted remarkably over the past nine months, and she was often relying on him to do the chores that required higher levels of stamina. What if something had happened that put both her and the baby's life in danger?

Takumi ran up the stairs two at a time, throwing open doors and quickly scanning each room. He was beginning to feel extremely anxious, and each empty room only served to increase Takumi's worries.

He came to a stop outside their bedroom, which happened to be the furthest from the staircase. Opening the door, he braced himself for what he might find.

The room was empty.

"Damn it!" Takumi cursed, banging a fist against the wall, which shook slightly in protest. He raced down the stairs and began the search for his keys, all the while blaming himself for Misaki's absence.

"What are you doing?"

Takumi turned around and blinked in disbelief at seeing Misaki standing in front of him, holding a plastic bag containing a large cake box. Dropping his keys, Takumi immediately reached for Misaki, pulling her as close to him as her large, protruding belly would allow.

"Where were you?" Takumi murmured into her hair, sagging with relief at feeling Misaki's warmth.

"I went out and bought some stuff from the bakery," Misaki said, her speech slightly muffled by Takumi's clothes. "I thought you wouldn't bother cooking anything after my carelessness." Takumi chuckled.

"You're rather dim for such a bright person, you know that?" he said, kissing Misaki's forehead. "Why would I do something like that?" Misaki shrugged her shoulders.

"So you did make a cake," Misaki said, sniffing the air. Grinning, Takumi pulled her into the kitchen. Setting the cake box on the table, Misaki's jaw fell open at the sight of the cream cake sitting atop the kitchen countertop, adorned with strawberries. Takumi laughed, and, retrieving a knife, cut a thick slice of cake and slid it onto a plate. Turning to Misaki, he bowed at the waist and held up the plate.

"For you, Milady," he said in a posh tone, although his voice betrayed the toothy grin he was trying to suppress. Misaki lightly slapped him upside the head, smiling fondly at her idiotic husband. Taking the plate from Takumi, Misaki took a bite of the cake, chewing thoughtfully. Takumi watched her every movement.

"It's nice," Misaki said after a brief moment of hesitation. Takumi blinked.

"You usually have a bit more to say about my cooking than that," Takumi said, confused by her silence. When Misaki didn't respond, he cut another slice of cake for himself and put a large chunk into his mouth, which he instantly spat out.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Takumi asked in an accusing tone, rinsing out his mouth.

"Honestly, it's not that bad," Misaki said, taking another bite of cake. "Sure, it's kinda salty, but I don't mind it with the amount of cream you put on it. It's a little thick, though." Misaki finished her slice and cut herself another one, her movements watched by a stunned Takumi.

By the end of the day, both cakes had disappeared. While Takumi was left with a pleasantly sweet taste in his mouth, Misaki ended up with quite a salty tang. Not that she minded.

* * *

><p>"Misaki?" Takumi called from the kitchen, holding a jar containing a white, floury substance close to his face for inspection.<p>

Misaki appeared at the door. "Yes?"

"I'm certain there's corn flour in here," Takumi began, displaying the jar's label for Misaki to see. "So why does the label say 'self-raising flour'?"

"They're the same, aren't they?"

"No, darling, they're not."

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><p><em>THE BABY IS COMING SOON. So sit tight [for another year or so] and I'll have that chapter up and running (if I can be bothered writing out the entire scene before Christmas or whenever).<em>

_So people accidentally mistake sugar for salt and self-raising flour for corn flour. It technically wasn't Takumi's fault, even though he did the cooking this time. Misaki must have gotten the products mixed up when she was sorting out the groceries or something. I always open up my stuff and put it into separate containers when I buy things like flour and sugar. I generally don't like several packages containing the same product taking up space in the kitchen cupboard. :P_

_A friend of mine told me about a close friend of hers who actually put in salt instead of sugar into one of the dishes he was cooking. She told me he was never allowed in the kitchen again. I made a cake without flour or sugar once (I have terrible short-term memory). As soon as it cooled, it went straight in the bin._

_Funny thing is, I don't even know the effect of corn starch in baking. I know that it thickens your food for a "fuller texture" when you cook (thanks Google), but I don't know whether it does the same thing when you bake._

_I can't apologise enough for my extended absence. How long has it been since I last updated? A year and a half or something like that? I'm going through a difficult time right now, so please excuse me and accept my gift of a very quickly constructed chapter as an apology. (And no, I'm not going through any form of emotional trauma. I'm a happy chap. :D)_

_Fun fact: I'm watching two friends of mine arm-wrestling. They got caught by our teacher, but she didn't get mad. Right now, she's laughing and telling them to continue so she could see who won. She's absolutely brilliant. I always knew I loved her for a reason. xD_

_Thank you to everyone who's continued to follow me and this story, and a big hello to all the newcomers! A special thank you to everyone who's taken time to leave a review, despite my long absence._

_Speaking of reviews, see that box underneath? Go ahead and write something in there, then click that little button on the right hand side that says 'Post review as [insert name here]'. Go on._

_I must congratulate you for making it through my gigantic ramble. You, dear Sir or Madam (although I'm guessing Madam since Maid Sama! is a shoujo anime) are incredible, not to mention very patient._

_AJ out (and probably won't be back for a while)._


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